Support for a paraplegic wheel chair



1970 E. A. PETERSEN 3,522,887

SUPPORT FOR A PARAPLEGIC WHEEL CHAIR Filed March 25, 1968 INVENTOR. [aw/42.0 .4. PE TAESE'N United States Patent 3,522,887 SUPPORT FOR A PARAPLEGIC WHEEL CHAIR Edward A. Petersen, 13761 /2 Locust Ave, Westminster, Calif. 92683 Filed Mar. 25, 1968, Ser. No. 715,882 Int. Cl. A47c 7/54, 7/62; A47f 7/00 U.S. Cl. 211--14 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An object of my invention is to provide a novel support or tray which can be quickly and easily attached to the side frame of an invalid chair and is so arranged that it can readily support large or cumbersome objects, such as a bowling ball.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel support or tray which, when attached to the frame of the invalid chair, will still not interfere with movement of the invalids arms to propel the chair or to throw a bowling ball or the like.

Still another object is to provide a novel support or tray of the character stated which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and effective in operation.

A feature of my invention resides in the ability of the tray to be attached to the frame of an invalid chair and to compensate for variations in dimensions of the frame of the chair.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my support or tray as aflixed to a side frame of an invalid chair.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the same.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side view of my support or tray.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of my support as adapted to the carrying of a bowling ball.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the frame of an invalid or paraplegic chair is usually made of tubular stock, and the arms portions of the chair consist of two vertical members 1-2 which are arranged parallel to each other and are connected by a horizontal member 3. These parts are all rigidly held together and form the usual and well known frame of an invalid or paraplegic chair. It is rather burdensome for the occupant of the chair to carry various articles from place to place if he must propel the chair with his hands ar arms. To provide a tray or table upon which articles may be carried I provide the substantially rectangular tray 4, which includes vertical sides or walls 5.

The tray 4 is attached to the side or arm pieces of the chair in the following manner: A vertical flange 6 projects downwardly from the bottom of the tray 4 and is preferably an integral part of the tray. A second vertical flange 7 also extends downwardly from the tray 4 and is spaced from the flange 6 a suflicient distance to receive the arm 3,522,887 Patented Aug. 4, 1970 "ice piece 3 between these flanges. Thus it will be evident that the tray 4 is positioned on the arm piece 3 in such a manner that it will not move horizontally, particularly when secured in a fixed position in the following manner:

A spring finger 8 is bolted to the flange 6 by the bolt 9 which extends through the slot 10. Thus the spring finger 8 can be adjusted horizontally to tightly press against the tubular member 2, substantially as shown. Also, since the member 8 is formed of spring material, the tray 4 can be easily removed or snapped into place as required. A plate 11 is bolted to the flange 6 by the bolt 12 which extends through the slot 13. Thus the plate 11 can also be adjusted horizontally to press tightly against the tubular member 1 to hold the tray 4 securely in position.

While various articles can be carried in the tray 4, it is particularly applicable to receive a bowling ball such as 14, which otherwise is quite difficult for a handicapped person to carry. To receive the bowling ball 14 I provide a ring 15 which is formed with depending legs 16 which fit inside of the tray 4 and in each of the corners of this tray, and will also bear against the vertical walls 5, thus holding the ring 15 securely in position. The bowling ball 14 will rest within the ring 15 as shown in FIG. 5, thus enabling the occupant of the chair to transport the ball from place to place, and also to manipulate the chair in the usual manner.

It will, therefore, be evident that my tray 4 can be securely fastened to the frame of an invalid or paraplegic chair, since the holding members 1 and 8 are adjustable to compensate for a difference in spacing between the vertical frame members 1 and 2. Since the tray 4 is quite rigid when mounted on the chair, it will easily support an object of considerable weight such as a bowling ball.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A tray for an invalid chair including a frame, said frame comprising a pair of spaced vertical members, and a horizontal member extending between said vertical members, a tray, a flange depending from said tray, and means on said flange engaging said vertical member to hold said tray on the frame, and a ring positioned in the tray, and legs on the ring resting in the tray adjacent the periphery thereof, said tray including means for preventing lateral movement of said ring with respect to said tray.

2. A tray for an invalid chair as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for preventing lateral movement of the ring include vertical Walls on the periphery of the tray engaged by the legs on the ring.

3. A tray for an invalid chair as recited in claim 1, said means on the flange engaging the vertical members including a spring finger bolted to the flange and engaging one of the vertical members, and a plate bolted to the flange and engaging another of said vertical members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,746,527 5/1956 Liebich 297438 2,979,120 4/1961 Amburn 2971-88 3,005,614 10/1961 Daniell 248-230 3,011,648 12/1961 Einhorn 211-14 3,239,272 3/1966 \Vilkins 297l94 3,233,940 2/1966 Tooley 297l94 RAMON S. BRITTS, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. XJR. 

